WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - On the eve of a highlyanticipated hearing on liquefied natural gas exports, U.S.Senate Energy Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said on Monday hehopes to determine if there is a bipartisan "sweet spot" on apolicy for sending LNG abroad.

In his first hearing as head of the Energy Committee - hereplaced Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, who retired - Wyden, anOregon Democrat, is set to delve into the impact of the nation'sshale gas boom.

"I'm particularly interested in whether there is bipartisaninterest in developing what I call a sweet spot, where you canhave some exports but not so much that the price goes updramatically on American consumers and American manufacturers,"Wyden told Reuters on Monday.

The rapid rise of shale gas production in recent years hasplaced the United States in the position of becoming a netexporter of natural gas, after years of forecasts that thecountry would have to increasingly rely on foreign sources tomeet its energy needs.

But some manufacturers, such as Dow, have raised concernsthat allowing unlimited exports will harm energy-intensivecompanies now benefiting from low gas prices.

Wyden has expressed similar worries, saying the governmentshould revisit its gas export policies and ensure that thecountry does not trade away the energy security benefits ofabundant natural gas.

The idea of allowing some gas exports, but not all, is sureto raise the hackles of oil and gas producers and LNGproponents, who have said the government should not setarbitrary limits on exports.

Gas exports to all but a handful of countries with freetrade agreements require approval by the Energy Department.

The department is currently weighing more than a dozenexport applications, after putting a hold on approvals to allowfor a study of the economic implications of exports.

That study, conducted by NERA Economic Consulting andreleased in December, found that unlimited exports would providenet benefits for the U.S. economy. The study has been criticizedby Wyden and others for not using the most recent governmentdata, among other reasons.